Giving youth a voice as part of the popular TED talks series, where speakers are encouraged to give "the talk of their lives" (TEDx.com, 2011) for 15 minutes: Amna Khalid speaks at TEDxYouth conference in Khartoum about her vision for the future and what education gives her, "that as a young woman, I can have it all. Samreen (a mentor) showed me how to improve myself. Nazim encouraged me to help a young child." (Khalid, 2011)
The classroom of 2025 must use sound pedagogical practice, insightful curriculum, relevant virtual and tangible environments that are sustainable through funding, professional development, multitasking and navigating future issues.
Instructional methods for the future need to adapt in further continuation of the reforms that have recently been spurred to the forefront by the America COMPETES act and the Common Core State Standards, adapted by 47 states in 2010. These have set up a new multimodal way of learning that adapts the way disciplines were taught in an agrarian model of education and blends them to create units that teach all "subjects" fluidly. The addition of sciences and professional examples in the STEM program has helped education become more relevant to changing career needs by forging stronger real-world connections through practical examples and modeling scientific discoveries that are on the forefront of their fields. Assessments, like the Common Core Assessment plan being developed by 45 states, have begun the shift to incorporate more technology and areas of relevant criteria for college readiness and career skills. They should continue to grow and change to reflect the ways in which students truly learn.
While the pedagogy discussed in this wiki has a historical background, it is still relevant to the worlds of today and tomorrow. Ideas like letting students take the initiative on learning or trying to create as realistic an environment as possible cannot become outdated; instead they will only be realized more and more with new technology. Perhaps one day, educators will look back on the past and wonder how students were ever not in total control of their learning in virtual environments exactly like what they will find in the work place. Along with these pedagogical changes, curriculum must adapt and change as well. The ideas that students learn must be worthwhile and rigorous. It is hoped that students of 2025 will learn not for grades or because they are supposed to, but rather because they want to learn information that will prove invaluable to them in their professional lives. After all, the end goal of curriculum and pedagogy is to entice the students to want an education more than the teachers want it for them.
The learning environment of 2025 will, no doubt, include an increased necessity for technology. Incorporating technology in education will be vital to student success, not only in academic pursuits, but also in career and everyday living. Society's dependency on technology is increasing exponentially, and the educational field should mirror these societal trends. If not, the learners of the future will not be properly equipped to handle the issues, problems, and dilemmas our dependency on technology will surely yield. This not to say that we should avoid technology, only that we need to prepare for the unique issues that arise from its use. Anthony Chivetta, a high school student in Missouri has this to say about technology, "The need to know the capital of Florida died when my phone learned the answer. Rather, the students of tomorrow need to be able to think creatively: they will need to learn on their own, adapt to new challenges and innovate on-the-fly". This nicely sums up the direction technology is pushing education and the challenges students and educators alike will face. (quote retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/tonyvincent/education-technology-quotes)
Designing schools or classrooms of the future requires us to understand and know what we expect of 21st century teaching and learning and then build schools to meet those requirements as schools and classrooms of the future are no longer about “bricks and mortar” but about places where “learning relationships” are fostered (Rudd, Gifford, Morrison, & Facer, 2006, p.3). What we do know is that in the 21st century students will be creating their own learning environments while fostering student-to-student, student-to-expert or a host of other learning arrangements that will become the mainstay of education in the 21st century. As teaching and learning embarks on this path classrooms and schools must therefore “create…spaces that shape empowering classroom practices of sociality” (Monahan, 2002) because students will be learning in a multitude of environments—online, virtual, or face-to-face—which require changes to physical spaces (Rudd et al., 2006). Furthermore, with advances in technology and “digital creativity,” we will need to reconfigure learning spaces to allow for and encourage collaboration and “opportunities to generate, share, edit, and publish materials” through various “internet discussion forums, messaging, social networking and social bookmarking tools, weblogs [or blogs] and wikis” (Rudd et al., 2006, p. 14).
Sustaining this vision into the future involves recognizing the impact of greater real-world connections to learning and projects, and how they inspire students. A better plan for education in all aspects, including building design, curriculum, instructional methods and integrated technology will not only help further them down the educational pipeline but give them the tools and the voice needed for successful, viable careers - many of which will not exist until after they have left school.
Read her personal blog about the event here.
Conclusion
The classroom of 2025 must use sound pedagogical practice, insightful curriculum, relevant virtual and tangible environments that are sustainable through funding, professional development, multitasking and navigating future issues.
Instructional methods for the future need to adapt in further continuation of the reforms that have recently been spurred to the forefront by the America COMPETES act and the Common Core State Standards, adapted by 47 states in 2010. These have set up a new multimodal way of learning that adapts the way disciplines were taught in an agrarian model of education and blends them to create units that teach all "subjects" fluidly. The addition of sciences and professional examples in the STEM program has helped education become more relevant to changing career needs by forging stronger real-world connections through practical examples and modeling scientific discoveries that are on the forefront of their fields. Assessments, like the Common Core Assessment plan being developed by 45 states, have begun the shift to incorporate more technology and areas of relevant criteria for college readiness and career skills. They should continue to grow and change to reflect the ways in which students truly learn.
While the pedagogy discussed in this wiki has a historical background, it is still relevant to the worlds of today and tomorrow. Ideas like letting students take the initiative on learning or trying to create as realistic an environment as possible cannot become outdated; instead they will only be realized more and more with new technology. Perhaps one day, educators will look back on the past and wonder how students were ever not in total control of their learning in virtual environments exactly like what they will find in the work place. Along with these pedagogical changes, curriculum must adapt and change as well. The ideas that students learn must be worthwhile and rigorous. It is hoped that students of 2025 will learn not for grades or because they are supposed to, but rather because they want to learn information that will prove invaluable to them in their professional lives. After all, the end goal of curriculum and pedagogy is to entice the students to want an education more than the teachers want it for them.
The learning environment of 2025 will, no doubt, include an increased necessity for technology. Incorporating technology in education will be vital to student success, not only in academic pursuits, but also in career and everyday living. Society's dependency on technology is increasing exponentially, and the educational field should mirror these societal trends. If not, the learners of the future will not be properly equipped to handle the issues, problems, and dilemmas our dependency on technology will surely yield. This not to say that we should avoid technology, only that we need to prepare for the unique issues that arise from its use. Anthony Chivetta, a high school student in Missouri has this to say about technology, "The need to know the capital of Florida died when my phone learned the answer. Rather, the students of tomorrow need to be able to think creatively: they will need to learn on their own, adapt to new challenges and innovate on-the-fly". This nicely sums up the direction technology is pushing education and the challenges students and educators alike will face. (quote retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/tonyvincent/education-technology-quotes)
Designing schools or classrooms of the future requires us to understand and know what we expect of 21st century teaching and learning and then build schools to meet those requirements as schools and classrooms of the future are no longer about “bricks and mortar” but about places where “learning relationships” are fostered (Rudd, Gifford, Morrison, & Facer, 2006, p.3). What we do know is that in the 21st century students will be creating their own learning environments while fostering student-to-student, student-to-expert or a host of other learning arrangements that will become the mainstay of education in the 21st century. As teaching and learning embarks on this path classrooms and schools must therefore “create…spaces that shape empowering classroom practices of sociality” (Monahan, 2002) because students will be learning in a multitude of environments—online, virtual, or face-to-face—which require changes to physical spaces (Rudd et al., 2006). Furthermore, with advances in technology and “digital creativity,” we will need to reconfigure learning spaces to allow for and encourage collaboration and “opportunities to generate, share, edit, and publish materials” through various “internet discussion forums, messaging, social networking and social bookmarking tools, weblogs [or blogs] and wikis” (Rudd et al., 2006, p. 14).
Sustaining this vision into the future involves recognizing the impact of greater real-world connections to learning and projects, and how they inspire students. A better plan for education in all aspects, including building design, curriculum, instructional methods and integrated technology will not only help further them down the educational pipeline but give them the tools and the voice needed for successful, viable careers - many of which will not exist until after they have left school.
Next: Recommended Viewings, more videos of our design team's plan for you